About:
Israel consistently presents itself to the world as a liberal democracy and often accentuates its alleged support for and solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community. It also purports to be a “Western” enclave amongst its "non-Western” neighbours in Western Asia, while at the same time claiming indigenous status to the region.
This talk will dissect this presentation both in terms of its factual accuracy and in the context of Israel’s ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people, which has exacerbated in the two and a half years since October 2023. The truth of the matter is that the Israeli state has never had any of the provisions that most Western states afford at least some of their LGBTQ+ populations, and that the few provisions that do exist apply selectively to specific ethnic, geographic, and socio-economic slices of the societies living under Israeli rule. Even the very right to live, let alone live as Queers, is not guaranteed to most of the Palestinian population governed by Israel, and popular support amongst Israelis for trans and other non-confirming segments of the public is constantly on the decline.
Academia and Activism is a seminar series in which academics and activists explore issues related to human rights, the environment and animals. The series opens academic discussion to perspectives from outside the seminar room, highlights the public relevance of the humanities, and critically examines the relationship between academia and activism.
The views and positions expressed by individual speakers and contributors are their own. They do not represent the position of the University of Gothenburg, the Faculty of Humanities, or the Department of Philosophy, Linguistics and Theory of Science (FLoV).
